The present invention relates to a layered, universal, multi-functional common conductive shield structure with conductive feed-thru or by-pass pathways for circuitry and energy conditioning that also possesses a commonly shared and centrally positioned conductive pathway or electrode that can simultaneously shield and allow smooth energy interaction between grouped and energized conductive pathway electrodes. The invention, when energized, will allow the contained conductive pathways or electrodes to operate with respect to one another harmoniously, yet in an oppositely phased or charged manner, respectively. When placed into a circuit and energized, the invention will also provide EMI filtering and surge protection while maintaining an apparent even or balanced voltage supply between a source and an energy utilizing-load. The invention will also be able to simultaneous and effectively provide energy conditioning functions that include bypassing, energy and signal decoupling, energy storage, and continued balance in Simultaneous Switching Operations (SSO) states of integrated circuit gate. These conditioning functions are all provided without contributing disruptive energy parasitics back into the circuit system as the invention is passively operated within the circuit.
Electrical systems have undergone short product life cycles over the last decade. A system built just two years ago can be considered obsolete to a third or fourth generation variation of the same application. Accordingly, passive componentry and circuitry built into these the systems need to evolve just as quickly. However, the evolvement of passive componentry has not kept pace. The performance of a computer or other electronic systems has typically been constrained by the frequency operating speed of its slowest active elements. Until recently, those elements were the microprocessor and the memory components that controlled the overall system""s specific functions and calculations. However, with the advent of new generations of microprocessors, memory components and their data, the focus has changed. There is now intense pressure upon the industry to provide the system user with increased processing power and speed at a decreasing unit cost. EMI created in these environments must also be eliminated or minimized to meet international emission and/or susceptibility requirements. Since 1980, the typical operating frequency of the mainstream microprocessors has increased approximately 240 times, from 5 MHz (million cycles per second) to approximately to 1200 MHz+ by the end of the year 2000. Processor frequency operating speed is now matched by the development and deployment of ultra-fast RAM architectures. These breakthroughs have allowed boosting of overall system frequency operating speeds of the active componentry past the 1 GHz mark. During this same period, however, passive componentry technologies have failed to keep up with these new breakthroughs and have produced only incremental changes in composition and performance. These advances in passive component design and changes have focused primarily upon component size reduction, slight modifications of discrete component electrode layering, dielectric discoveries, and modifications of device manufacturing techniques or rates of production that decrease unit production cycle times.
In the past, system engineers have solved design problems by increasing the number of passive components placed into the electrical circuit. These solutions generally have involved adding inductors and resistors that are used with prior art capacitors to perform separate functions such as filtering, decoupling, and surge protection. Although there have been a few devices that are able to perform more than one function simultaneously, these devices consist of passive networks that require additional supporting componentry.
Not to be overlooked, however, is the existence of a major limitation in the line conditioning ability of these passive networks and prior art single passive components. This limitation presents both an obstacle for technological progression and an obstacle for economic growth in the electronic and computer industry and remains as one of the last remaining challenges of the +GHz speed systems. The focus of constraint to high-speed system performance is centered upon the physical architectural limitations that make-up the supporting passive componentry that in turn helps deliver and condition the propagated energy and data signals going to and from the processors, memory technologies, and those additional systems located outside of a particular electronic system.
A single passive component generally has a physical functional line conditioning limitation of between 5 and 250 MHz. At higher frequencies, for the most part, a load still requires combinations of discrete passive elements for xe2x80x9clumpxe2x80x9d elements such as various L-C-R, L-C, and R-C networks to shape or control energy delivered to the system load. However, at frequencies above 200-250 MHz, these prior art, discrete L-C-R, L-C, R-C networks begin to take on characteristics of transmission lines and even microwave-like features rather than providing lump capacitance, resistance or inductance that such a network was designed for. This performance disparity has appeared in the form of circuit system anomalies or failures over the last 2-3 years in circuitry between the higher operating frequency of microprocessors, clocks, power delivery bus lines, and memory systems, and that of the supporting passive elements, has resulted in system failures.
Additionally, at these higher frequencies, energy pathways should normally be grouped or paired as an electrically complementary element or elements that work together electrically and magnetically in harmony and in balance within an energized system. Attempts to line condition propagating energy with prior art componentry has led to increased levels of interference in the form of EMI, RFI, and capacitive and inductive parasitics. These increases are due in part to imbalances and performance deficiencies of the passive componentry that create or induce interference into the associated electrical circuitry. This has created a new industry focus on passive componentry whereas, only a few years ago, the focus was primarily on the interference created by the active components from sources and conditions such as voltage imbalances located on both sides of a common reference or ground path, spurious voltage transients from power surges, human beings, or other electromagnetic wave generators.
At higher operating speeds, EMI can also be generated from the electrical circuit pathway itself, which makes shielding from EMI desirable. Differential and common mode noise energy can be generated and will traverse along and around cables, circuit board tracks or traces, and along almost any high-speed transmission line or bus line pathway. In many cases, energy fields that radiate from these critical energy conductors act as an antenna, hence aggravating the problem even more. Other sources of EMI interference are generated from the active silicon components as they operate or switch. These problems such as SSO are notorious causes of circuit disruptions. Other problems include unshielded and parasitic energy that freely couples upon or onto the electrical circuitry and generates significant interference at high frequencies.
Other disruptions to a circuit derive from large voltage transients, as well as ground loop interference caused by varying ground potentials, which can render a delicately balanced computer or electrical system, useless. Existing surge and EMI protection devices have been unable to provide adequate protection in a single integrated package. Varieties of discrete and networked lump filters, decouplers, surge suppression devices, combinations, and circuit configurations have proven ineffectual as evidenced by the deficiency of the prior art.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/561,283 filed on Apr. 28, 2000 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/579,606 filed on May 26, 2000 by the applicants relate to continued improvements to a new family of discrete, multi-functional energy conditioners. These multi-functional energy conditioners posses a commonly shared, centrally located, conductive electrode of a structure that can simultaneously interact with energized and paired conductive pathway electrodes contained in energy-carrying conductive pathways. These energy-carrying conductive pathways can operate in an oppositely phased or charged manner with respect to each other and are separated from one another by a physical shielding. This application expands upon this concept and further discloses a new width and breadth of additional and unobvious embodiment variations of what the applicants believe to be a new universal system of circuit protection and conditioning that will help solve or reduce industry problems and obstacles with simplicity and exponential effectiveness. Variations of the invention can also use many commonly found and accepted materials and methodologies for its production. The applicants also believe this the invention and its variations to be a universally exploitable solution that is cost effective by today""s economic standards and that it will have a longevity of usages, despite the ever-increasing operating frequencies of future circuits. The applicants also believe this the invention and its variations that can be created will minimize production and logistical discontinuities for any adopters of the technology. Variations of the invention use commonly found and accepted materials and methodologies for its production which in-turn can minimize production and logistical discontinuities for any adopters of the technology. Manufacturing infrastructure is provided with an unprecedented ease of adaptability or production changeover as compared to the prior art.
Based upon the foregoing, there has been found a need to provide a layered multi-functional, common conductive shield structure containing energy-conductive pathways that share a common and centrally positioned conductive pathway or electrode as part of its structure which allows for energy conditioning as well as a multitude of other functions simultaneously, within one inclusive embodiment or embodiment variation that possesses a commonly shared and centrally positioned conductive pathway or electrode as part of its structure. The layered, multi-functional, common conductive shield structure also provides simultaneous physical and electrical shielding to portions of propagating energy by allowing predetermined, simultaneous energy interactions to take place between grouped and energized conductive pathways and various conductive pathways external to the embodiment elements.
Existing prior art discrete decoupling capacitors lose their effectiveness at about 500 MHz. For example, mounting inductance for 0603 size capacitors has been reduced to approximately 300 pH. Assuming 200 pH for the internal capacitance of the capacitors, this equates to a total of 500 pH, which corresponds to 942 mOhms at 500 MHz. Accordingly, current discrete capacitors are not effective. While it is possible to use the series resonant frequency and low ESR capacitors to drive towards a low impedance at 500 MHz, the capacitance required to obtain 500 MHz with 500 pH ESL is about 200 pF. Current prior devices get 225 pF for every square inch of power planes which would require more than one discrete capacitor every square inch. A superior approach is to get the low impedance from the power planes. It is impractical to utilize many low impedance decoupling capacitors on a PCB if low impedance power planes are not available to them hook them up. Accordingly, the solution to low impedance power distribution above several hundred MHz lies in thin dielectric power plane technology, in accordance with the present invention, which is much more effective than discrete decoupling capacitors. Therefore, it is also an object of the invention to be able to operate effectively across a broad frequency range as compared to a single component or a multiple passive conditioning network. Ideally, this invention can be universal in its application potentials, and by utilizing various embodiments of predetermined grouped elements, a working invention will continue to perform effectively within a system operating beyond 1 GHz of frequency.
It is an object of the invention to be able to provide energy decoupling for active system loads while simultaneously maintaining a constant, apparent voltage potential for that same portion of active componentry and its circuitry.
It is an object of the invention to minimize or suppress unwanted electromagnetic emissions resulting from differential and common mode currents flowing within electronic pathways that come under the invention influence.
It is an object of the invention to provide a multi-functional, common conductive shield and energy conditioning structure for conductive energy pathways which can take on a wide variety of multi-layered embodiments and utilize a host of dielectric materials, unlimited by their specific physical properties that can, when attached into circuitry and energized, provide simultaneous line conditioning functions and protections as will be described.
It is an object of the invention to provide the ability to the user to solve problems or limitations not met with prior art devices which include, but are not limited to, simultaneous source to load and/or load to source decoupling, differential mode and common mode EMI filtering, containment and exclusion of energy parasitic containment and exclusion, as well as surge protection in one integrated embodiment and that performs these described abilities when utilizing a conductive area or pathway external to the originally manufactured embodiment.
It is an object of the invention to be easily adapted to utilization with one or more external conductive attachments to a conductive area located external to the originally manufactured invention which can aid the invention embodiments in providing protection to electronic system circuitry. Additionally, protection is offered from an in-service to active electronic components from electromagnetic field interference (EMI), over voltages, and debilitating electromagnetic emissions contributed from the invention itself, which in prior art devices would be contributed as parasitics back into the host circuitry.
It is an object of the invention to provide a physically integrated, shield-containment, conductive electrode architecture for the use with independent electrode materials and/or an independent dielectric material composition, that when manufactured, will not limit the invention to a specific form, shape, or size for the multitude of possible embodiments of the invention that can be created and is not limited to embodiments shown herein.
It is an object of the invention to provide a user with an embodiment that gives the user the ability to realize a comparatively inexpensive, miniaturized, solution that would be available for integration and incorporation into a plurality of electronic products. It is an object of the invention to provide an embodiment free of the need of using any additional discrete passive components to achieve the desired filtering and/or line conditioning that prior art components are unable to provide.
It is an object of the invention to provide an embodiment giving the user an ability to realize an easily manufactured, adaptable, multi-functional electronic embodiment for a homogenous solution to a wide portion of the electrical problems and constraints currently faced when using prior art devices.
It is another object of the invention to provide an embodiment in the form of discrete or non-discrete devices, or pre-determined groupings of conductive pathways, that form a multi-functioning electronic embodiment that when attached to an internal conductive pathway or a pre-determined conductive surface, operates effectively across a broad frequency range and simultaneously provides energy decoupling for active circuit componentry, while maintaining a constant apparent voltage potential for portions of circuitry.
It is another object of the invention to provide an embodiment in the form of discrete or non-discrete devices, or pre-determined groupings of conductive pathways, that form a multi-functioning electronic embodiment to provide a blocking circuit or circuits utilizing an inherent common conductive pathway inherent to the embodiment, which is combined with an external conductive surface or ground area to provide connection to an additional energy pathway from the paired conductive pathway conductors for attenuating EMI and over voltages.
It is another object of the invention to provide an embodiment that utilizes standard manufacturing processes and be constructed of commonly found dielectric and conductive or conductively made materials to reach tight capacitive tolerances between electrical pathways within the embodiment while simultaneously maintaining a constant and uninterrupted conductive pathway for energy propagating from a source to an energy utilizing load.
Lastly, it is an object of the invention to provide an embodiment that couples pairs of electrical conductors very closely in relation to one another into an area or space partially enveloped by a plurality of commonly joined conductive electrodes, plates, or pathways, and can provide a user with a choice of selectively coupling external conductors or pathways on to separate or common conductive pathways or electrode plates located within the same embodiment.
Numerous other arrangements and configurations are also disclosed which implement and build on the above objects and advantages of the invention in order to demonstrate the versatility and wide spread application of a universal, multi-functional, common conductive shield structure with conductive pathways for energy and EMI conditioning and protection, within the scope of the present invention.